Abbot Nesteros on Two Kinds of Knowledge

The order of our promise and of our course requires that the instruction of Abbot Nesteros should come next. He was a man outstanding in every respect and of the greatest knowledge. When he saw that we had committed some parts of Holy Scripture to memory and wanted to understand them, he spoke to us in these words. There are indeed many different kinds of knowledge in this world, as many as there are arts and sciences. But while all of them are either completely useless or useful only for the good of this present life, there is not one that lacks its own system and method of learning, by which those who seek it can grasp it. If those arts, then, are guided by certain special rules for passing them on, how much more must the system and expression of our religion depend on a fixed order and plan. For it is directed to the contemplation of the secrets of invisible mysteries, and it seeks no present gain but the reward of an eternal recompense. And this knowledge is twofold. The first is practical, which comes about through the improvement of conduct and cleansing from faults. The second is contemplative, which consists in the contemplation of divine things and the knowledge of most sacred thoughts. [a]